Saturday, April 16, 2011

Flatlined

Here's an interesting graphic showing the popularity of the various political parties' leaders so far in this campaign. Note the Greens and the Bloc have just about flatlined and the Liberals barely have a pulse. The only two leaders with some life in them are the Cons (still comfortably ahead) and the Dippers, who must be euphoric. I wonder if this election will be enough to make the left of centre parties consider a merger. They could very well be sucking up to Laytoon for the foreseeable future.

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4 Comments:

Blogger Dave in Pa. said...

Jack Layton?!?! You've gotta be kidding, right? Jack Layton a very popular leader? Jack Layton strikes me as being a classic case of SBS, Short Bastard Syndrome.

This socio-historical theory is based on the long list of bad, very troublesome men in history who were short in stature and overcompensated by being mouthy, hyper-aggressive tyrants. To name a few, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Mao all were Short Bastards.

While I wouldn't put Jack Layton in that bunch, as far as level of evil, I'd call him a Short Bastard wannabe, fortunately only a comic relief character. (However, let's remember there are NO cases of Communist leaders ever coming to power ANYWHERE and being other than brutal SOBs. Goes with the ideology, magnified with the personality of SBS men.)

April 16, 2011 7:57 pm  
Blogger Louise said...

Calm down. Calm down. I'm just the messenger. ;)

If the Libs are down for the count, we could very well see a different flavour to the two opposing parties mold that has been so predominant in Canadian politics.

I can't see how one strong party of the right and four weak and ineffective parties on the left will be any good. I'd like to see the riff-raff on the left get shaken up and give us a real contest between ideas. I can't see Ignatieff leading the reconstruction, or being allowed to by the rank and file. After all, he's led the pack at full tilt into the wilderness.

On the other hand, I can't see the Dippers actually wanting to form the national government. For decades they have been content to be on the sidelines barking and pretending to be the party of conscience. If they actually had to take the reins, it'd scare them off, big time.

And besides all that, Laytoon is not a well man. He's undergoing treatment for cancer and he may not be long in politics at the very least, if not in this world.

I think Canada is hungering for something really different. Any sort of merger would have to involve changes to the parties involved, and the Cons would have to adjust accordingly.

Besides, your theory about short people doesn't hold up even in your own country right now. :p

April 16, 2011 8:41 pm  
Anonymous MaxEd said...

If this election results in a Conservative majority, the left will have gotten its clearest signal yet that it has to unite if it wants to get anywhere. If there's another minority, same message. A coalition wouldn't last any appreciable length of time at all.

April 17, 2011 8:48 am  
Blogger Louise said...

I can see a merger of the Dippers, Libs and Greens. I haven't a clue what part of their respective ideologies they would have to forgo to see that happen. It might take some of the more scary bits (their hidden agenda - OOOOOOOOOOO!) out of the picture for good. And I really think Jack, or whoever is leading the Dipper pack at the time of the merger, would be more interested in a cabinet position than a stint in the PM's office. Actually running a whole country is not in the Dipper DNA. They'd have to be accountable, after all. But I could see the Dippers wrecking havoc in more than one ministerial portfolio. Imagine what they would do with Immigration and Citizenship or Foreign Affairs or, ye gods, Finance!!

No. Come to think of it, they'd wreck anything they'd touch.


In any case, a merge of parties on the left would leave us with a very interesting scenario with respect to the Bloc and Quebec, in general. Do we want to pander ourselves out of existence or stand up to them. It would be nice to have some real clear choices like that on the Canadian political landscape.

Divorce, anyone?

April 17, 2011 9:24 am  

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